What It Takes To Be A Reagan
by autumnfierystar04
Summary: Can a feisty private investigator really earn her place on the Reagan's dinner table next to Jamie? Both families are going to clash, and complications will unfold - but will Jamie and Anna come out together? Jamie and O/C.
1. How To Get One's Attention

**Author's notes:** This story will hopefully correspond to many episodes throughout season 2, but I most definitely want to focus on Jamie and this new character, and I love suspense so... I hope you like.

And I want to thank Blue Bloods for introducing me to the NKOTB.

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><p>'Just don't pull any of that P.I. stuff today, and we'll do fine.'<p>

'What are you saying, exactly? Since when does my sleuthing skills interfere with our line of work?' asked Anna, who slouched in the passenger seat while her supervisory partner drove them towards the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She knew exactly what Margaret was talking about - this was her third partner since she started working full time for the Department; and when social workers are couped up in the office with a mountain of paperwork, they do what they can to pass the time. _Gossip_.

'Well, Rosie wasn't too happy about the fact that you sided with the father in your last case with her,' said Margaret. 'Especially after the kid gave a sworn statement of his abuse.'

'It was my only _case_ with Rosemary, and the kid was lying from the get-go. I had to dig around a little to make sure the kid was telling the truth.'

'Yeah, and you did it behind her back. Not to mention, you broke protocol,' said Margaret, stealing a chance to glance at the rookie. 'Or, should I say protocols? Some of us are amazed you're still here.'

'I didn't lose my job because the mother was in on it to continue to milk money from her husband. I worked around the protocol because by the time it takes to go through the bureaucratic red-tape, the kid would have further implicated his own father, in which he'll then retaliate and game over,' explained Anna. 'The mother will move away with the kid to live quite comfortably with the alimony and the child support, while the father probably had to sell his house and work his butt off for that kid til he's 21. That's a whole decade, Margaret, not to mention the psychological strain on the father. So why don't you gossip about that, 'cause that's what would have happened if I didn't do what I did.'

'Hey, I'm just saying that you made _her_ look like a rookie when the truth came out,' chortled Margaret. 'Would love to have seen what the boss said when she requested a new partner…'

'Can we not talk about that? I don't want any more desk duty. Barely survived the last stint,' sighed Anna. 'But did Rosemary really report every rule that I supposedly broke?'

'Yep,' laughed Margaret, as she parked her car in a quaint looking neighbourhood. 'Weren't you told she was a stickler for the protocols?'

'Wouldn't have changed anything,' smiled Anna, as she stepped into the breezy weather. 'That mother deserved all the hours of community service she was sentenced to, and I'm hoping that in time, the kid will find out his father is not who his mother described him to be.'

'Yeah, it was a good outcome, which is what I want for today as well, okay? Just follow my lead,' said Margaret as she led the way to the front door of house number 1206, the narrow footpath frosted with snow and lined with miniature gnomes. 'And if you sniff something out… just tell me before I give you desk duty myself.'

'Fine, if I see anything, you can claim the credit for it,' said Anna, as Margaret reached out and knocked.

'Atta rookie, now you're learning,' joked Margaret, and she patted her trainee's back. 'We're going to get along great!'

Anna smiled, knowing that Margaret understood her better than she let on. The front door creaked open. 'Can I help you?' asked the man through the small gap.

'Good afternoon, Mr. Harrison. We're from Social Services and we would like to have a chat concerning your two children? My name is Margaret and this is Anna.'

'Hi,' said Anna, and she gave a friendly smile. The first rule about dealing with estranged families is to never seem intrusive or intimidating. 'We don't wish to take too much of your time, sir.'

'Did my ex-wife send you? I only get one of these weekends a month with the kids - what the hell does she want now?'

'This is a scheduled visit from Social Services, sir. Your ex-wife had nothing to do with it. A letter was sent to this address saying that we could come to make sure you have an environment suitable for child habitation. This is part of the conditions of custody for your children.'

'Right, please don't remind me. Come in.'

Margaret gave Anna a '_that's how you do it'_ look, as Mr. Harrison led them into a warm lounge room. Anna felt save enough to remove her gloves without fear of getting frostbite. 'This New Year really is colder than average,' Anna said conversationally.

'Yes, yes it is,' replied Mr. Harrison distractedly.

'Did we interrupt something, sir? I see that you're all suited up,' said Anna. Mr. Harrison was indeed dressed in what Anna could only describe as church clothes.

'I want to take my kids somewhere special.'

'And where are the kids, Mr. Harrison?' asked Margaret. Anna looked around the room as Mr. Harrison explained that the kids are in the bath at the moment.

The lounge room was full of toys that is expected in a house with a five and seven year old boys, but something wasn't quite right about it all.

'Perhaps you should see to them, Mr. Harrison? Kids that age should be supervised in the bathroom,' said Anna. She turned towards him to watch his reaction as he replied, 'yes, of course. That's what I was doing before you knocked on my door.'

Mr. Harrison then rushed off into the back of the house, where Anna heard the splashing cease and the running water turned off.

'The house is neater than my own apartment, and I don't even have kids,' said Margaret. 'The guy is doing a decent job.'

'Yeah, but that's the thing. It's _too_ neat. Not clean, _neat_. Boys do not have the capacity to be this neat, unless…' pondered Anna, mostly to herself as she walked about the room.

'Okay, so what is it that you wanted to know?' said Mr. Harrison as he returned into the room. 'The kids should be finished soon.'

'Well, Mr. Harrison, we can start with -' said Margaret, but Mr. Harrison cut in. 'Please, call me George. Have a seat.'

George's change of demeanour started ringing alarm bells in Anna's head. 'Thank you George. We just need -' continued Margaret, where Anna interrupted her this time. 'Mr. Harrison, where is Max and John?'

George turned towards Anna. 'Like I said, they're getting changed in the bathroom.'

'May I?' said Anna, who started to head towards the bathroom.

'No, you may not. That would be a breach of privacy,' said an angered George, who then proceeded to grab Anna's arm and prevented her from entering the bathroom. 'MAX? JOHN?' yelled Anna.

'Anna, you are out of line!' said a shocked Margaret. 'Mr. Harrison, I must urge you to let her go. She's new to this job -'

'I want you out of my house, NOW!' yelled George, and he dragged Anna towards the front door. 'MAX? JOHN?' yelled Anna again, to which there was no reply. Dumped onto the front porch, George slammed the door before Anna could stand and wedge herself back inside. 'MARGARET!' screamed Anna, banging the front door til her hand was red raw. 'Shit!' panicked Anna, before dialling 911.

'911, what's your emergency?'

'I have a violent father; his name is George Harrison and he's possibly holding my partner hostage. We're Social Services and I have reason to believe that he has already harmed his children. We're at 1206 West 82nd Street. Please hurry!'

'Are you hurt?'

'What? No, I'm not -'

'The police will be there momentarily, so I need you to get yourself somewhere safe. Was the man carrying any weapons?'

'Not when he assaulted me, but he's in the house with my partner and his kids, right now!' said a frustrated Anna. If Margaret can't talk her way out of this situation, she'll have to take full responsibility for any and all consequences. Regretting having acted so rashly moments before, Anna started eying one of the gnomes on the footpath and formulated a plan. 'I need to stall him til the police get here.'

'The police are already on the way, ma'am. Get somewhere safe, and do not get involved. The police will handle it when they -'

'It'll be too late by then,' said Anna, and she hurled a garden gnome in a bright red hat towards the house. Shattering glass was heard before the emergency call was disconnected.

..:: | ::..

'Look, I trust you. But whether it is the Blue Templar or anything above our payroll, I do not want you poking around and getting caught. What would your Dad think? Hell, even I don't think Danny is stupid enough to get involved,' said Renzulli. 'Or maybe he is, but you should be smarter and know better!'

'It's over, sarge. The whole Blue Templar thing is over,' said a grateful Jamie, as he settled down on the stall of a heated coffee shop. The events in the recent weeks are still flashing in the rookie's mind.

'Really?' asked Renzulli sarcastically. 'That's why you look so focused and happy right now, huh?'

Jamie turned to his training officer, and knew that he couldn't lie about what happened. His father had said to keep the whole operation as quite as possible - but not secret, and Jamie trusted his TO. 'Did you hear about all those officers that went down over some stolen money from a police drug bust?'

'Yeah, everybody heard about that. Why?'

'My dad led the execution. And Danny. And myself,' said Jamie matter-of-factly.

'Get out of here,' exclaimed Renzulli. 'How did you get involved? How did the Commissioner?'

'Blue Templar. We arrested the whole corrupt society,' said Jamie. 'We didn't know who we could trust.'

'What you're saying, is that all those cops you bought down for the stolen drug money were the Blue Templar? They actually exist and the Commissioner brought them down?'

'Yeah.'

'But why the hush-hush? Shouldn't the precincts know about it?' asked Renzulli. He has yet to sip from his coffee cup since the start of the conversation.

'We don't know how high up this goes,' said Jamie. 'And they killed Joe, sarge.'

Renzulli opened his mouth to say something, before deciding to quietly drink his coffee instead. 'I'm sorry, Jamie. Joe was a good guy and a great cop.'

Jamie stared out at the window, seeing people bustling up and down the streets in their overcoats and scarves without a care in the world. 'I miss him, sarge.'

'So do I. And if you're half as good as your brother was, you'll be a great detective one day too.'

'Thanks sarge. Ready to go?' asked Jamie, wanting to keep himself as busy as possible to prevent dwelling about Joe.

Speaking not a moment too soon, Renzulli's radio cackled to life. 'Sector Adam 10-34, at 12-0-6 West 82nd street with possible civilian intervention and 10-35. Repeat. 10-34 at 12-0-6 West 82.'

Both officers rushed to their feet. 'Looks like I don't have a choice,' said Renzulli. '12 sergeant to Central, we copy,' Renzulli replied to dispatch before he and his rookie officer ran to their police vehicle, disrupting the afternoon traffic with their sirens.

..:: | ::..

The house was unusually quiet, as Anna carefully climbed through the smashed lounge room window. 'Margaret?' she asked.

'You should not have done that,' said a calm George Harrison, appearing from the small hallway. 'No one can help my sons, because they're safe now. My ex-wife can't take them away anymore.'

'Mr. Harrison, please tell me you didn't kill your own children,' whispered Anna.

George took a step closer to Anna. 'They're in God's hands now. He'll forgive me for what I have done, and for what I will do,' said an emotional George. 'I couldn't let them be treated like a piece of property to be shipped back and forth. I AM THEIR FATHER!' screamed George. 'No one takes my children AWAY!'

'ANNA! RUN ANNA,' screamed Margaret, her voice muffled from another room in the house. 'He's got a gun!'

George pulled out a small revolver and levelled it at Anna. 'I didn't want to harm your partner, and I don't want to hurt you, but if any of you try to stop me, I won't hesitate.'

'Mr. Harrison, listen to me please,' said Anna, raising her hands in a submissive position. 'The police are already on the way. Whatever it is that you have done, whether you believe it to be right or not, please sir, don't make it any worse.'

'How do you know if it could get any worse? I killed my children! But that's okay, because I promised them that I'll meet them soon,' said George, lowering his revolver away from Anna and directed it at his head instead. 'Really soon.'

Anna heard police sirens in the distance, so she pressed on, knowing that the police will end the situation very quickly, and George will not survive the incident. 'Mr. Harrison - George, godamnit! Listen to me. Tell me, did you love your sons?'

'What kind of question is that? Of course I loved my sons!'

'Then how did you do it? How did you kill them?' asked Anna. 'You drowned them didn't you? I heard them splashing in the tub when I came in, your sleeve was wet, and you were all calm when you came back out of the bathroom. You drowned them when Margaret and I were here, didn't you?'

'How did you -'

'Because you have a gun, but you didn't shoot them. Why?' asked Anna, hoping to shock George with the truth that this is more than just a father's mercy killing. 'Why did you drown them, George?'

'Because - because I didn't want them to die like that, they're just kids!'

'Then that gun only has one bullet, right?'

'Yes,' said George, as his hand started to falter. 'I didn't want to do it, I swear, but I had too!'

'DADDY? Daddy, where are you?' squeaked a tiny voice.

George's ears perked up. 'John?'

'Daddy!' answered John, who then coughed and spluttered.

'Ssh!' said Margaret, but it was too late. George leaped over the small coffee table and grabbed Anna by her shoulders and jammed the revolver to the side of her face.

'What did you do to him? Why did you have to interfere?' screamed George. 'You let my John out now or I'll shoot her, I swear I will!'

The sirens that have felt so far away was now blaring outside for the neighbourhood to hear, the red and blue lights flashing across the glass littered lounge room. 'Drop the gun! DROP IT,' yelled two distinct voices. Anna heard one of them calling for back-up.

'George, please. You still have a cha-'

'Shut up and call for your partner to take my son out,' said George. 'I'm not letting any of my children out of this house unless God takes them himself. Now call for her!'

'Drop your gun, sir,' said Renzulli from behind his squad car. 'Drop it and release the girl.'

'CALL HER!' yelled George, facing the cops so that Anna covered his front.

'No. I will not have a dead child on my conscience,' replied Anna; an oath that she took before becoming a social worker was to always protect children to the best of her abilities.

'Daddy? Why is did you hurt Max? He's not moving, daddy!'

'Drop the weapon or we'll fire!'

'Daddy?'

'DROP YOUR WEAPON!'

'DADDY!'

Disorientated with all the demands, and now more sirens adding to the mix, George screamed and turned towards the voice of his oldest child.

Officer Reagan took the shot, aiming for the exposed thigh when George twisted his hostage to the side. Anna felt George's weight collapse on top of her, the gun in George's hand now shifted to her stomach, and three guns went off simultaneously.

..:: | ::..

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><p><strong>Post Scripts:<strong> My first ever Blue Blood story! I can take this in so many directions so if you have anything to contribute, it will improve my later chapters, with my most worried issues being:

-How did you find Anna's character?

-Was the Blue Templar incident covered well between Renzulli and Jamie?

Other than that, I would also like to add that Frank and Anna's guardian will make an appearance in the next chapter which I hope will clear things up between both families that I would like to delve in deeper in later chapters.

Merry Christmas! -Lyn


	2. How To Pay Back One's Debt

**Author's notes:** I understand that my first chapter was quite dark, and I apologize if I didn't give enough warning. I intend for this chapter to set the scene for the rest of the story.

To all those that placed an alert, this chapter's for you. Happy New 2012 people!

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><p>There was a searing pain to Anna's right, as if someone has placed a red hot iron to her side and pushed it so hard that it went all the way through her body. 'Hey, are you alright?' asked a worried voice, but Anna didn't respond. Everything sounded distant over the ringing in her ears. 'Sarge, we need a bus! She's hit!'<p>

Jamie was pressing down on the wound as bright red blood continued to ooze. Anna could see that the officer tending her was about her age. _Too young to be a police officer_. 'Hey, what's your name? Look at me. Look! I'm Officer Reagan, and I need you to focus here, okay?'

Anna focused on the officer's face. _Reagan? Do I know him?_ 'Officer Reagan, have we met before?' Anna asked weakly.

Jamie was taken aback from the question. 'I don't know ma'am, but I don't think so.'

Anna stared at the officer as he bent over her protectively, and her eye shifted to the gold name tag pinned to the dark blue uniform. Reagan, it spelt in block letters. She reached out for his hand and Jamie grabbed it, his other hand still putting pressure to Anna's abdomen. 'What's your name, officer?'

Anna could hear the ambulance arrive on the scene as Officer Reagan shifted to make room for the paramedics. 'It's a through and through, possibly with a .44. Will she going to be alright? She's lost a lot of blood.'

'We don't know until we get her to the hospital, officer. You can let go now,' said one of the paramedics, but Anna couldn't until she knew for sure.

'These people are going to take great care of you okay, trust me,' said Officer Reagan, and he removed his hold from Anna's hand.

'Your name, please?' begged Anna, as she was placed on a gurney and wheeled away from the house. She couldn't hear the officer's reply as the paramedics placed a mask over her and shut the ambulance door.

'It's Reagan. Jamie Reagan.'

..:: | ::..

'First time getting called out to a Social Services incident huh, kid?' asked Renzulli to a quiet Jamie. They were heading back to the precinct as both have fired their firearms, and the paperwork was needed for the Department of Social Services to file their cases.

'Yeah, and the second time I've shot somebody. I shot him twice actually,' said Jamie distantly. He was still thinking of the girl that demanded to know his name. _Have we met before? Have we?_

'The shot to the thigh was risky, Reagan. In any other situation, I would take your gun. But you saved that girl, so I'll tell you this, kid. There are calls to domestic disturbances, calls to violent ones, than there are these calls.'

'Social services?'

'Yeah,' sighed Renzulli. 'The people involved have unpredictable motives, and then you add kids to that mixture and things get out of hand really quickly. But you adapted today.'

'I hope the girl is going to make it.'

'She looked like she will. But why did she ask for your name? Didn't you state yourself?'

'I did, but she indicated that we've met before.'

'Well, you've been on the beat, what, a year now? If she lives around here, it's not that improbable.'

'I guess,' said Jamie, as his TO pulled up to the 12th Precinct, its towering structure giving Jamie a sense of pride. 'Come on sarge, the paperwork can't be all that bad right?'

'If you had plans tonight, cancel them.'

..:: | ::..

Anna was taken to the Roosevelt Hospital. She was told after waking up in a hospital gown, that she received multiple stitches and a blood transfusion, but will make a full recovery after a couple of days rest. Joshua and Margaret were Anna's first visitors, but Joshua was quick to dismiss Margaret for some rest herself after her ordeal. Both were extremely vague about the previous events.

'After he chucked you out, and I don't mean figuratively, I locked myself in the bathroom. He went quite mad, and then I heard glass breaking and then it went all quiet, and then screaming, and shooting, sirens, and then more screaming,' reiterated Margaret.

'Margaret, why don't you let Annabel get her rest? And you too. You've both been through a lot today,' said Joshua, Anna's uncle.

'Of course, Mr. Rivera. Get well soon Anna, because those paperwork on your desk aren't going to file themselves,' said Margaret, before she disappeared out the doorway.

'Josh, really? I haven't even had the chance to ask her anything yet!'

'You'll have that chance when you get back to work. Now I want you to rest. In bed,' said Josh, before Anna could rebut.

Anna gave a big sigh. 'No one has told me anything. I don't even know if George Harrison made it.'

'Even if he did, I would have made sure otherwise. But no, the officers that shot him had the honours,' said Josh, and he placed both his hands on Anna's. 'Don't ever scare me like that again, or I'd ground you.'

Anna smiled. 'You worry too much, Uncle Josh.'

'Sometimes I wonder if you purposely do this to me.'

'What? Get shot to earn your sympathy? Surely it's not worth that much,' joked Anna. But then she realised Josh wasn't joking. 'Josh? I'd never-'

'I know you would never do anything to cause me to worry, at least not on purpose…'

'What do you mean?'

'Annabel, do you remember what you always wanted to be?' asked Josh, still holding on to Anna.

'Yes, I wanted to be like you. A private investigator,' replied Anna, and she squeezed her uncle's hand in that memory.

'What happened when you took that P.I. test without my knowledge?'

'You weren't happy about me following in your footsteps. Why are you bringing this up?' asked Anna. 'That was eons ago.'

'It was actually one of the most proud days of my life.'

Anna reached out and touched her uncle's face. 'You are the only family that I know of, that cares so much for me. Please, tell me what's going on? Is it about Ma? Pa, perhaps?'

'No, it's not your parents. It's the fact that I didn't let you continue on with being a private investigator, just so I can keep you safe. Working in the Department should have kept you safe!' said Josh, leaping off the bed in frustration.

'Uncle Josh! You can't control my life anymore then you can control yours! You're right, being a P.I. isn't really the job for me,' said Anna. 'I honestly love working in Social Services, and I have no one to thank but you, for this lifestyle choice. Today was a one of a kind incident. It won't happen again. But the matter-of-fact remains is that my P.I. gut kicked in today, and it quite possibly saved Margaret and the two kids,' vented Anna angrily. She looked up at her uncle and added, 'So I don't want to hear anymore regrets about our jobs because_ I_ don't have any!'

'You don't regret not being a P.I. full time?'

'No, I don't,' said Anna, who leaned back onto her reclined bed. Her stitches irritated when she sat up before. 'But I'd still like to maintain my P.I. license, if you don't mind.'

'No, I don't,' replied Josh, and he kissed Anna on the forehead. 'Thanks for putting it in perspective for me. I did kind of lose my head there.'

Anna smiled. 'Have you heard from _them_, yet?' asked Anna, looking hopeful.

'No, your parents haven't contacted me yet, but I only just left them a message, so maybe they will soon.'

'Yeah, maybe,' said Anna. 'Or maybe not. I kind of gave up hope when they didn't turn up for my graduation.'

'Would you forgive them if they did come?'

'I don't know what I'd do, Josh. I only vaguely remember their faces,' said Anna nervously. 'Imagine that! They could have walked past me and I probably wouldn't even recognize. As for forgiveness… If they still cared, I'd give them anything.'

There wasn't anything that Joshua could add to his niece's blunt confession. Both of Anna's parents renounced their guardianship over their only daughter to Joshua when she was in her early teens; an incident Joshua relieves every night and yet Anna barely remembers.

'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. This conversation never has made anyone extremely happy.'

Josh silently agreed. 'Annabel, don't think about anything right now but getting better, okay?'

'But I do have one question that's been bugging me,' asked Anna.

Josh steeled himself for more questions about her parents that he knew he couldn't answer, but instead was thrown another curve ball.

'Do you know of an Officer Reagan?'

'Are you sure it wasn't Detective Reagan instead?' asked Josh. This time it was his turn to be curious. 'How did you meet this person?'

'No, he definitely stated that he was Officer Reagan, and he was there today. First to the scene, and… he saved my life, Josh.'

'He did?'

'Yeah. Late twenties, possibly a rookie, have this short dark hair, quite handsome, and quite educated too. Oh, and I think he works off the 12th precinct.'

'And how long did you meet him for?'

'The full five minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive.'

'Handsome, you said?'

'Shut up Josh.'

'Yeah, alright,' chuckled Josh. 'You were always good at reading people; just remember that looks can be quite deceiving.'

'Yes, Uncle Josh. Now can you tell me?'

'I don't know any officers named Reagan. Did you manage to catch his first name between all the staring?'

Anna laughed. 'I'm trying to be serious here! And no, he didn't tell me. But you do know a Detective Reagan huh?'

'Yeah, you've met him too. Or at least you've seen him. He lost his brother Joe, and we attended the funeral, do you remember?'

'I do. It was a genuinely sad affair,' said Anna, remembering back. 'The commissioner's speech moved everyone to tears.'

'Except that it wasn't a Police Commissioner's speech. It was from a father who lost his son.'

'To have two sons in the police force… I guess being a cop really does run in the blood,' mused Anna.

Both Anna and Josh fell silent. Anna was racking her brains to see if she saw the officer today at the funeral, while Josh realised he might need to make a call to an old friend.

'I think the detective, and the officer today might be brothers. I can't be certain because if I am, then that would have made him the commissioner's son, and that would be awkward.'

'Okay, enough chatter. Rest, I have to make a phone call to a friend of mine,' said Josh, and he placed another soft kiss on Anna's head before leaving. 'I command you to watch TV until I come back.'

Anna sighed as she watched her uncle disappear behind the curtain, and reached for the remote. Scanning all the channels until she found news station as it was covering a story of a shooting. Anna turned the volume up, ignoring any possible complaints from the other patients in the public hospital.

'… and while the police have not yet revealed any details pertaining to the crime, independent witnesses have come forth, and Channel Ten has the exclusive.' The camera filmed a panorama of house number 1206, and Anna was shocked to see the damage she'd done to the front window.

'Witnesses have claimed that two police officers fired upon the attacker, who was holding a young woman as a shield. The police have confirmed that the man, named George Harrison, has tried to kill two of his sons. One managed to survive, while he was fatally wounded in the incident; but whether or not it was due to police action or suicide, is yet to be confirmed,' continued the reporter, her hand now grabbing her earpiece, her blond hair whipping around in the wind. 'We have confirmation from neighbours, that the girl in question was actually from Social Services, and she was taken to hospital in what seems to be a critical condition. The question then remains - can the NYPD protect the citizens and civilians of New York, if they cannot protect their own? This is Kelly Davidson with Channel Ten News, bringing you the latest stories as they unfold.'

..:: | ::..

Josh stepped out of the room, passing two beds on each side of Anna before letting his emotions run unchecked on his face. Anna was once again asking about her parents, and Josh hated lying to her about it. He moved further down the hallway and allowed the tears to fall without the possibility of getting caught by Anna or the nurses.

Josh knew that one day he must come clean about her parents. How he had forced his sister-in-law to sign papers so that he'll become sole guardian of Annabel til she turned 18; in return, he'll keep the abuse that Anna has suffered away from the press so that his brother can secure himself a position within the firm, something that his power-hungry brother has loved more than his own flesh and blood. He hasn't seen his brother since that fateful day either. Nor has he attempted to call them about Anna. They would never know, because it was the only way to keep Anna safe.

Composing himself, he pulled out his phone. There was someone he needed to thank. Josh pressed the numbers he had memorized.

'Reagan.'

'Frank? It's Joshua.'

'Joshua, I knew you'd call. Is your niece okay?'

'Yeah, she's going to walk out of here in a couple of days, thanks to your officers. So, tell me, was it your Jameson that rescued my Annabel today?'

'Indeed it was. Small world.'

'Being a lawyer would have been too much?'

'Finished law school but decided he preferred the streets than the courtroom I guess.'

'Whatever the reason, thank you Frank.'

'Officer Reagan did what I hoped any officer would have done in his position. You have no need to thank me, Joshua.'

'I thought that it was your eldest today. How is Danny? And your daughter, Erin, isn't it?'

'Danny is in Major Cases now, and Erin is making sure that we don't step out of line. Nothing's changed except-'

'Everything has, I know. Just wanted to say that Annabel still remembers your speech that day.'

'And I haven't forgotten what you've done either. Do you think that our next generation can pay back what we've owned each other?'

'We've been friends this long Frank, you do not owe me anything.'

There was silence on the other end of the line as Frank watched the news from his house.

'Joshua, are you with Annabel now?'

'Yes, I'm at the hospital. Why?'

'The news somehow got hold of some witnesses. They know she was Social Services.'

'Are they going to find out who she is?'

'Not unless the Department talks. Joshua, I'll handle this, you just stay close to her til it dies down.'

'I guess I'd see you sooner rather than later.'

'Take care, Joshua.'

'You too, Frank,' said Josh, before sliding his phone closed. Running back to Anna's room, he could see her crying and the TV blaring.

Quickly turning the TV off, Josh held Anna close. 'What happened, Annabel?'

'The boy, he's dead. I couldn't save him Uncle Josh! Little Max is dead because I couldn't reach the bathroom fast enough!'

..:: | ::..

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><p><strong>Post Scripts:<strong> The only (major) characters for this story left to come is the Rivera/Bennett clan (Rivera being Josh's side of the family, whereas Annabel Rivera Bennett took both her mother's and father's surname, as they generally do in a Spanish tradition, I think [please fix me if I'm wrong]).

Happy Summer (or Winter if you're in the Northern Hemisphere) readings!


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